Casinos look to the Internet

Many of the country’s largest casinos, long opposed to gambling games like poker on the Internet, are now having second thoughts.

Although online gambling is popular with millions of Americans, it is illegal in the United States, and the casino industry has considered it a threat.

But a trade group that represents major casinos like Harrah’s Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts is working on a proposal that would ask Congress to legalize at least some form of online gambling, the group’s chief executive said.

The group, the American Gaming Association, issued a statement in the spring suggesting that online gambling could be properly regulated — the first public indication that its hard-line stance was softening.

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The move by casinos to open the door to online gambling could bring a powerful new lobbying force into Congressional debate. It would also most likely intensify fights in state legislatures as various gambling interests — groups that include lotteries, racetracks and Indian tribes — push lawmakers to grab more gambling dollars for states by moving to the Web.

California, Florida and New Jersey recently made unsuccessful efforts to legalize Internet betting on casino-style games, said Mark Balestra, the director of the BolaVerde Media Group, a consulting firm in St. Louis that tracks Internet gambling. Current law does not prevent in-state gambling over the Internet but to do so across state lines would require a change in federal law.

Just something to keep an eye on in the event that the push for expanded gambling in Texas finally succeeds next year. It’s possible that language to allow for such betting might be proposed, but I doubt it could get enough support to actually be included. But if and when casino gambling is legalized here, expect the campaign to expand it to online action to follow.